Vatican II has just been implemented, the Age of Aquarius is about to dawn and Cassie Crawford is struggling to catch up with the world around her, grow comfortable in her own skin and avoid an eternity in hell. 'Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow, ' a novel in thirteen linked and separate stories is a depiction of 1960s-1970s suburban America, seen through the eyes of a developing young girl, narrated by the adult looking back. Sexuality, clergy abuse, puberty, repression, morality, mortality and other themes are explored through the events and everyday lives of the people of Cloverdale.
Maggie Murphy, 12 years old in the summer of 1972, is awakening to her world. Awkward, chubby, and shy, Maggie is an outcast among Catholic school peers. Her home life, punctuated by her parent's nightly alcohol-fueled fights, is equally miserable. Patty, her rebellious 16-year-old older sister, adds to the chaos of the house.But there is one bright, safe place in Maggie's life, her best friend Richie. Since meeting at the playground six years earlier, Maggie and Richie have been inseparable, playing with dolls, roller-skating, and working on dances Richie choreographs in his garage. However, Maggie's stern and difficult mother disapproves of the friendship for many reasons, but Maggie suspects the main reason is that Maggie is white, and Richie is Black.Hovering on the brink of adolescence, Maggie and Richie hope this summer will bring them more freedom, and a reprieve from the misery of school. But a shocking murder in town threatens to destroy everything Maggie loves. Emboldened by her love for the murder victim and the main suspect, Maggie embarks on a clandestine investigation. But when she unearths suspects close to home, will she have the courage to pursue the truth? Is Maggie's faith in herself enough to keep her going when everything else falls apart?
Dante DiMarchese is a well-regarded forensic psychologist and the man responsible for putting the Bailey Beach serial killer behind bars. When a soldier home from a tour in Afghanistan is charged with manslaughter, Dante is immediately called on to help. Dante's focus is tested when he starts receiving threats from the Bailey Beach Killer who is threating to destroy Dante's life and an ex-brother-in-law who pulls Dante into the middle of a family dispute over an inheritance from a still-living father.Set in the heart of New York, can Dante unravel the legacies and lies that others have left behind? Can he contain his own deceptions?
Gamblers, grifters, ne'er-do-wells, and dirt poor-to those who live on the outskirts of Columbia, South Carolina, such is the reputation of the Temmens family. Most of all, they're known to be trouble, and when Gene, the youngest son, returns from a vagabond trip around the country, that's exactly what he brings.Hounded by Texas bookies, Gene and his destitute family have no choice but to gamble on one last ace: The Sweet Muffin Ranch, their family-owned and operated dog rescue and rehabilitation center that, to everyone's surprise, quickly becomes a runaway success, one that makes the Temmens the talk of the town and offers Gene the chance to leave behind his illicit past.But when Hollis Lerne, a nefarious local loan shark arrives to collect on old gambling debts and one of the Texans goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Gene and his family are caught in the middle of a bloody, unorthodox war that threatens the lives of humans and canines alike.
Georgiana is gorgeous, smart, and independent, and has no need for a romantic relationship at this point in her life. While attending a professional conference, she finds herself painfully attracted to her new boss, Jackson, and struggles to not give into temptation. When the desire is too much to ignore, they agree to a short passionate interlude there, to never be repeated again once they are home. But can they really stay away from each other? When Georgiana realizes the universe is plotting to bring them together, she is filled with joy, then it all falls apart.Can Jack and Georgiana finally accept their love?Will Jack stay once he knows her secrets?Will they find their forever together?
In Dark Accidents of Strange Identity, Bobby O'Malley and his family move out of the Fairview section of Camden to the suburbs where he makes friends with two brothers, Dante and Mario Furfante, the other new kids in town. When he begins the sixth grade, Bobby quickly learns the pecking order of suburban boys. Meanwhile, he struggles to come to terms with the murder of his Fairview friend Iggy Scanlon.A few weeks after the move from Camden, Bobby's oldest sister Katelyn graduates college and joins the Peace Corps with her boyfriend Tug Peckinpah. After her stint in the Peace Corps ends, Katelyn returns to New Jersey. She and Tug are to be wed in Cape May. What should be a joyous occasion turns comic and then grotesque during the wedding reception.Bobby eventually enters high school. He meets Jenna DeSantis, and they begin dating. Soon, Bobby's heart is pulled in opposite directions when the ever-popular Bianca Bruni ends up in his French class. Bobby learns firsthand what teen heartache means. But all is not lost. In the summer after sophomore year ends, Bobby embarks on what will become a life-long journey when he begins writing his very first novel.
THE GRAVITY OF LOVE tells the story of a mother, a son, and a dead husband and father.Having learned she has cancer, the mother, Ginny, delays returning home and becomes a missing person to her children and her second husband. Memories of the missing person in her life draw her back to her first husband, John, and she relives their life, his death, and the madness of her grief that mirrored the depth of her love. But for her son, David, the missing person has always been John, even when he was alive.Memories of the absence of his father's love haunt David and draw him back to the home he fled with as much power as the memories of Ginny's love. But if Ginny dies, and if the people who knew John best are dead, can David find resolution and peace?
A town that, on a regular day, doesn't provide Police Chief Clyde Thomas and his hapless deputy, Patrol Officer Billy Ray Barnes, with a great deal to do. But it is not a regular day when the local preacher decides to go on a very unholy mission...... And that makes it to the front page of the local newspaper, sending the tongues around the town wagging...... And a national newspaper sends a reporter, Rita Scott, who, on learning that the charred remains of a body have been found, decides to hang around and dig a bit deeper...... And the minister's wife hasn't been seen for a while, and an elderly resident of a care home has gone AWOL.... And there's a gang of hell-raising bikers, wreaking havoc on the local highways.Clyde knows something's up with the preacher but is stumped as to what and why. As he tries to put the pieces together, he knows it's a race against time to prevent something terrible from happening...With colorful characters, this not-so-much-a-whodunnit-than-a-whydunnit story offers hilarity and philosophy in equal measure. A page-turner from the first page to the nail-biting ending.
On the edge of a collapsing society, families are left struggling to care for their children. The government offers a solution - send their children to special camps. They will be cared for, with only one stipulation - their memories will be erased in order to protect them from the pain of their pasts. Things are not always as they appear.Eleven-year-old Naomi lives in the Canyon Region facility. One afternoon, the camp director makes the children an offer to restore their memories. They have only one night to make the choice between learning the truth of who they are and of the outside world, or to remain in the camp.Will Naomi choose her memories? If she does, will she survive the journey home on her own?
Warsaw, Maine: a quiet, isolated backwater somewhere between the most insignificant points on a road going nowhere; a town small enough where everybody knows everybody, nothing ever changes, and nothing ever happens. That's why Dr. Liz Tilley gave up the endless chain of misery which came through the ER doors of Boston General for Warsaw, a place where no one locks their doors, her worst cases are household accidents and kids dodging school......and nothing ever happens.Until that early morning when a man staggers into town, gashed across his forehead, carrying no identification and with no memory of who he is or why he's there, babbling about the woman he's left back on the road in a wrecked car. But she's disappeared except for the blood she left behind, and it's up to Liz Tilley to draw on her old trauma expertise to unlock the man's damaged memory hoping to find answers even if it means uncovering some memories better left buried.
Maggie Long has only ever wanted to study martial arts, but it was forbidden. She found a teacher, Sifu Chang, to teach her in secret and she became a Kung Fu master.After years in self-imposed exile, Maggie has returned to Chinatown to pursue her dream. The forces that govern Chinatown are working against her, and she'll have to fight for her school and her life. Is she strong enough to withstand all the forces against her?A martial art story set in a neon-soaked Chinatown of the 1970's. The first book in a new series.
"What's it like to reach out and touch history in the moment, to peel back the layers of hyperbole and political deception for yourself as a simple soldier? Try the Philippine-American War, sometimes referred to as "the first Vietnam" (1899-1902). You might find that "desertion" really means conversion to a noble cause and "enlisting" is just another form of surrender... Three American infantrymen in the last months of major hostilities, the Filipinos all but beaten. Each man is quietly running from a prior life. One, a young corporal, naèive and inexperienced, is hiding from a gallows in Pennsylvania. Another is a disillusioned Catholic priest, running from God and himself. The third is a proud "Negro" soldier from the 24th U.S. Colored Infantry, a man who has deserted the army to actively join the Filipino forces. Their lives intersect with a beguiling and mysterious young Filipina, a respected figure of inexplicable influence among her people. All four join forces to hold back the tide of greed and racially motivated barbarity from a ravenous Eagle. One will die. One will find himself by learning that truth stands alone, wears no flag and employs no spokesman. The other two will live forever, legends in the minds and hearts of the Philippine people"--
Dr. Regina McLaren is a welcome addition to the faculty of the fledgling Psychology Department of Diamond Cove University, a small institution in the quaint coastal village of Diamond Cove, Maine. Reggie hopes the beautiful location and small school will help her bury painful memories and excise personal demons.Denny Petit heads up the Diamond Cove police department, having left the department in Chicago, and is running from his own demons.When brutal murders begin to happen, Denny asks Reggie for her professional input. Their hunt for the killer forces them to face their own haunted pasts and their growing attraction for each other. Will they be able to stop the killer before one ofthem meets the same bloody death?
17-year-old Connor doesn''t believe his best friend''s death was an accident. Falling down the stairs was random, and Connor can''t help but wonder if someone might''ve pushed her...Determined to find out the truth, Connor starts his own investigation. Along the way, he discovers Evelyn''s secret affair with a married man and thought she was pregnant before she died. Connor thinks he''s found her killer, but an airtight alibi forces him to look in a new direction...perhaps closer to Evelyn''s home.Complicating the situation more is Connor''s own secret - an unexpected hook-up with Evelyn''s twin brother, Liam, at a party the previous spring. Afterward, Liam goes on a homophobic rant and punches Connor, leaving him confused. His confusion deepens when, after Evelyn''s death, Liam apologizes and they start to hook-up secretly.Liam is trapped between his attraction to Connor and his abusive father. Connor struggles with his growing attraction for Liam. Their secret rendezvous are fun, but if Connor is going to have more with Liam, he''ll have to be honest about his feelings and his suspicions on who killed Evelyn. Will eithersurvive the truth coming out?
Powerful and unapologetic journey of one woman as democracy fails and authoritarianism takes holdLauren's happy childhood on a farm in Minnesota is shattered after an assault during her teen years, and she retreats into her own world as America falls apart. Hers was the last generation to grow up before the economic collapse that followed the Corona pandemic. Amidst roiling climate chaos, the government has been taken over by extremists, incompetents, and con-men who tear the country apart while clinging to power. Lauren is swept up in the madness when she falls for the wrong man. She's looking for love and safety, but Bryan becomes distant and abusive as he obsesses over White Sharia and deepens his ties to the racist patriot militia group. Lauren worries about the safety of her sister and nephew, who is mixed-race. Will Lauren escape from Bryan and keep her nephew safe from danger? In a world where values are tested and morality is unsettlingly murky, Lauren must break free from the constraints in her mind to protect her family.
Edris wants to be a poet. His father wants him to kill the king''s son.Edris'' lay-about life of privilege ends abruptly when his father, Lord Elros, announces that his adolescent son will enter the military in the spring. Edris has only six months to ready himself to serve a king who despises his family and will undoubtedly make his life beyond miserable.To prepare him, Lord Elros puts Edris through a brutal training regime. Not only does he demand Edris beat every man with whom he spars, but he also insists his son knock them unconscious-even if that means fighting dirty.About to crack under the relentless pressure, the sensitive Edris seeks a way to get out from under his father''s heavy thumb. A solution presents itself when an announcement for the latest Kings'' Quest arrives. According to the royal proclamation, the adventurer who finds the fabled Sword of Betrayal will win one thousand gold pieces, money Edris could use to start his own life with the woman he loves.Edris proposes to undertake the quest in order to get in better shape; however, Lord Elros has another idea-Edris will undertake the quest so he can get close to, and kill, the king''s son.
Who is the Lady of Ellerslie?F. Scott Fitzgerald is hoping for a quiet retreat to write his next novel following The Great Gatsby. He and his wife, Zelda, rent a mansion in Edgemoor Delaware, known as Ellerslie. Their stay is anything but quiet. There is another guest staying at Ellerslie - a female spirit who roams the property.Looking to sell Ellerslie, the owner hires April Ross, the only female student at the University of Delaware''s History Department, to research the estate''s history. It doesn''t take long before April realizes the true reason she was hired - to uncover the identity of the ghost. With the aid of Scott and Zela Fitzgerald, April discovers the shocking and tragic events that lead to the Lady''s demise and why she and the other spirits are not yet at peace.
New York City, Summer 1963 Rookie beat cop Jack Meara is bleeding out on the dirty floor of a tenement hallway - next to the body of another cop. The eyes of the shooter burned into his memory. Meara watches and waits to see the shooter brought to justice, but, instead, "Tony Boy" Maiella climbs up the Mob ranks, slipping off indictments as easily as his designer overcoat. But on the eve of his retirement, Meara decides on one last kamikaze-like try to even the scales of justice. New York City, 1983 Rookie detective Ronnie Valerio finds himself unknowingly pulled into the wake of Meara's quest. A go-go palace bartender is being stalked, a body turns up in a neighborhood dumpster, machine guns blaze in the night, a New York bookie turns up dead in the Jersey Pinelands and the only thing they all have in common is, in one way or another, they all tie back to Jack Meara. How far does a cop go to even a score? How far does a brother cop go to shield him? Is justice worth any price when the line between right and wrong blurs?
September 2018. 17-year-old Chad becomes intrigued by the new kid-Archie-when they flirt during their first interaction. But Chad's best friend, Mallory, asks Archie out first. Pursuing Archie allows Mallory to get revenge against Chad who recently rejected her. Except Chad refuses to lose Archie to Mallory. Not when he might have a real chance at love-Archie identifies as bisexual like Chad. Although if Chad wants Archie, then he must eliminate Mallory as the competition. Even if doing so means proving she was involved in the disappearance of her ex-boyfriend, Tommy.Three months later-December 2018. Tommy resurfaces, and Mallory accidently kills him while Archie and Chad are witnesses. Mallory, Archie, and Chad can't go to the police, though. Mallory blackmailed Tommy to leave town last Fourth of July with a sex-tape after discovering Tommy cheating on her. And Archie, Chad, and Mallory must unite if they don't wanna go down for murder. Except Chad is even more threatened of Mallory now that he and Archie are dating-Chad remains uncertain if Mallory harbors lingering resentment for rejecting her. If Chad wants Mallory gone, then he must continue making difficult choices. Even if destroying Mallory means Chad pretending to be Mallory's friend while finding a way to implicate Mallory in Tommy's death without him and Archie getting in trouble.If you like the nonlinear storytelling of ABC's HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER and the toxic love triangle of WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT, then BETWEEN LOVE AND MURDER is the book for you.
Forty-something Northern UK psychotherapist and university lecturer Rachel longs for a close family when, a year after their parents die her brother decides to cut off all contact. Out of the blue she meets Fran, a petite, attractive and outgoing community artist who disturbs and excites her. Shortly after this Aggie appears, looking like a relic from the 1960s and with a strong working-class London accent. She takes a strong interest in Rachel’s relationship with Fran. But who is she, and why is Rachel the only one that can see and hear her? When Fran’s mother dies, the two women discover a family secret that impacts on their decision to try for a baby. But there is more shock and heartache to come, and a tough decision to be made before Rachel finally finds her own kind of family. This is a story that challenges traditional ideas about what constitutes family. It is also about overcoming grief, and healing the past; about love, loss, and ultimately hope.
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